Grilled Buffalo Provolone with Marinated Tomatoes and Fennel Salad
The flavors of tomatoes, fennel, pesto, and provolone are delicious together. The secret to this dish is in the way you fry the cheese: it should be soft and creamy inside, browned on the outside. Watch it constantly; as it melts, bubbles, and browns, turn it to cook another side. If the pan becomes too hot, remove it from the heat until it cools again. Buffalo provolone is made with water buffalo milk, twice as rich in butterfat as cow’s milk.
Ingredients
- Arugula and Basil Paste
- Arugula - 2 bunch
- Basil - 1 bunch
- Pine nuts - 1 cup, toasted with butter
- Virgin olive oil - 1/2 cup
- Fennel Bulbs - 3 medium
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Thyme - 1/2 cup, chopped
- Sea salt to taste
- Virgin olive oil - 1/2 cup
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Buffalo Provolone Cheese - 1-1/2 pounds
- Tomatoes
- Tomatoes - 6, peeled, seeded, and quartered
- Virgin olive oil - 1 cup
- Oregano - 1/3 cup, chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Pine nuts - 1/2 cup
Instructions
To make the arugula and basil paste (pesto): Mix the arugula, basil, and half of the pine nuts and blend in a food processor or in a narrow container using a stick blender. Slowly add the olive oil while blending, creating a paste. Add the remaining pine nuts and finish blending. Put in a squeeze bottle and set aside.
Tear the fennel fronds into small bits and set aside. Cut the fennel bulbs into thin slices on a mandolin or V-slicer and put the slices in a bowl; toss with the lemon juice and thyme. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Cut the tomato quarters into ovals and put in a deep dish with the torn fennel fronds. Season with sea salt and nearly cover with olive oil. Set aside.
Remove the crust from the provolone to reveal the white interior. Cut into quarters, then cut each quarter into four slices. Put 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and warm for 30 seconds. Lift the pan off the heat and add the cheese. Reduce the heat to medium-low and fry the cheese, monitoring constantly; you want the cheese to be softly melted inside, browned outside.
In another saute pan or skillet over medium heat, saute the marinated fennel with 1 tablespoon of olive oil until warmed and softened. Remove the pan from the heat and add the tomatoes.
To serve: Squeeze a large zig-zag of pesto across each plate. Add a mound of the fennel-tomato mix in the center of the plates. Remove the cheese from the heat and put four slices on top of each. Sprinkle with pine nuts.
